Weekly Weird News for 20 May 2022

It was one of those weeks, dear readers, when the weird news was just not of good enough quality to fill the page as usual. Many of you would have seen several “weird” news stories pass through your feed, as did I. I find that media outlets misreport some items or exaggerate the significance because they don’t quite understand what they are reporting - the giant sinkhole in China, the “blood moon”, metal balls falling in India (space junk). These might be interesting but are only weird to those who can’t Google. I saw the usual sites make a big deal of mundane things by adding flashy headlines “Plagued by Terrifying Dreams, Thieves Return Stolen Items to Temple”. Meh. I’m also not going to discuss the UFO hearing in Congress because the weirdest thing about it is that anyone is giving this topic any attention with all the genuine threats on our doorstep. 

But let’s see what I could cobble together this week.

Shifting sands

For a start, coincidentally, there were two deadly incidents involving sand. Most people don’t think of sand as dangerous. Sand might seem stable but will collapse when it dries out and will flow into every space around you. Those trapped in sand will asphyxiate. In Utah, a 13yr old boy died after sand at the Coral Pink Sand Dunes state park collapsed and buried him. Local news states he was digging into the sand - a sure path to disaster. https://ksltv.com/493023/utah-teen-dies-after-becoming-trapped-underneath-sand-in-kanab/

Later in the week, another teen dies in a sand pit that he made. An 18 yr old boy dug an 8-foot-deep pit in the sand when the hole collapsed. Those of us who are familiar with excavation wonder how anyone could not know that trench collapse is a serious and common thing. I have previously seen warnings not to dig deep holes in the sand for various reasons. However, the accident took place at a private beach community. The news report quotes a fire chief about the instability due to recent storms, but under no conditions is a trench in loose material ever safe. https://www.app.com/story/news/local/emergencies/2022/05/19/toms-river-nj-sand-collapse-warning-after-levi-caverly-death/9826523002/

The best to come out of these events is that people are now aware to be careful digging through sand. 

Ghost tracks

The coastal storm mentioned in the story above did move enough sand to expose century-old railroad tracks also along the Jersey Shore.  The “ghost tracks” occasionally appear after storms and were installed to facilitate mining sand and for munitions testing during WWI. https://www.nj.com/cape-may-county/2022/05/coastal-storm-unearths-cape-mays-century-old-creepy-ghost-tracks.html

Old stone

Two fishermen found a very old gravestone along the Cuyahoga River in Ohio. The stone, from almost 250 years ago, predates the founding of the town and even the official settlement of the area. The stone was retrieved from the riverbank with the help of archaeologists and is displayed at the Historical Society. https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/headstone-from-1781-found-along-cuyahoga-river-near-cuyahoga-falls

Underwater carpenters

Carpenters are training in a new environment for a changing world. A new facility will open in New Jersey to train divers in the carpenters union to install offshore wind farms. https://www.axios.com/local/philadelphia/2022/05/19/carpenters-union-opens-dive-school-new-jersey

Beaked whale carcass

A rare beaked whale carcass was discovered on a California beach. Typical for deeper waters, they aren’t often seen alive or dead. Scientists examined the remains and took samples in order to identify the cause of death and species. https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/beaked-whale-washes-up-on-California-beach-17182197.php

Ice Shove

Spring along northern lakes sometimes means giant ice banks that build up as the wind pushes ashore. 25 ft high hills of ice appeared on Lake Winnepeg this week as a persistent wind conveyed loose ice chunks into banks in a process called “ice shoves”. https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/a-pretty-amazing-phenomenon-giant-ice-shoves-form-on-lake-winnipeg-1.5908849

Fightin’ armadillos

Armadillos are now almost normal in southern Illinois. Typically seen in the deep south, the strange-looking mammals are colonizing more northern states as climate change allows. They become garden pests and roadkill, unfortunately. The animals have been spotted in the midwestern state for 20 years but now, the reports are commonplace. It’s not clear how all of them made it so far north - they may have migrated or hitched a ride. But they are managing to survive the winters. The animals can carry diseases, including leprosy. https://pantagraph.com/news/state-and-regional/armadillos-have-arrived-in-downstate-illinois-and-are-heading-north/article_527d37b8-d3a1-11ec-920c-63223a45256b.html

Avian conspiracy, part two

Bird flu is spreading once again. The global outbreak has sparked the inevitable conspiracy ideas. People who have had just about enough of catastrophe are latching on to false claims in order to feel some sense of control over the chaos. It doesn’t help. No one is making up diseases. They do just fine showing up on their own. Unfortunately, this article quotes despicable conspiracy quack Joe Mercola who promotes endless streams of nonsense to make money. https://www.twincities.com/2022/05/17/conspiracy-theorists-flock-to-bird-flu-spreading-falsehoods/

A Mom’s work never ends

A woman in British Columbia was breastfeeding her infant daughter when she heard their pet goose making a racket outside. She ran out still holding the baby to rescue the goose from a bald eagle attack. The goose and the baby were fine and continue to be well cared for. The video of the event captured on security cam became popular. https://www.cheknews.ca/caught-on-cam-breastfeeding-mom-breaks-up-bird-battle-in-north-saanich-1032243/

Leaky man in black

Some jerk shot the water tower in Kingston, Arkansas, birthplace of Johnny Cash. The result is a very unsightly leak. https://www.kansas.com/news/nation-world/national/article261469492.html

Double miracle

Sometimes, good news comes in spades. In an update from a story last week (“Pilot in a pinch”) about the successful emergency landing of a small plane, the pilot who fell ill is really lucky to be alive. He suffered a tear in the inner layer of the aorta. Doctors were surprised that he was able to live long enough to get into surgery. Most people die. The man is doing fine as is the passenger who landed the plane. https://www.today.com/news/pilot-midflight-safe-home-hospital-rcna29166

Thanks for reading! Tell a friend who also might like this content. And, send me recent weird news via Twitter.